`Jena 6' defendant facing assault charge in Texas

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, February 6, 2008

A defendant in the so-called "Jena Six" case last year that led to angry allegations of racially biased prosecution in the small Louisiana town now faces a misdemeanor assault charge after an apparent fight at his new high school in Texas.

Bryant R. Purvis' mother said he got in a fight at Hebron High School in Carrollton on Wednesday because he'd heard a classmate had vandalized his vehicle. Denton County jail records show Purvis, 19, was arrested on an assault causing bodily injury and released Thursday on bail.

Purvis was one of six black Jena High School students initially charged with attempted murder after a Dec. 4, 2006, assault on a white student. Charges were reduced, but the original counts caused angry complaints of harsh, racially motivated prosecution that led to 20,000 people marching in Jena.

Purvis faces aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit battery charges in the Jena case and is set for trial in March. If convicted of both charges, he faces up to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Purvis couldn't be reached for comment Thursday because there's no listed number for the uncle he lives with in Texas, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher.

Carrollton police did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press on Thursday, and school district declined to comment on details of the incident. His mother, Tina Jones, told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk newspaper that Wednesday morning someone told him who vandalized the vehicle.

Purvis, a 6-foot-6 starter on his school basketball team, had left a game Tuesday night and found that two tires had been flattened.

"I wish he could just get in a place where he could walk away from the situation," Jones told the newspaper. "I understand he gets frustrated. But he needed to walk away from this situation, being that he's already in a situation. It's very frustrating and upsetting to have to go through so much."

Hebron officials were still investigating the incident, said Dean Tackett, a spokesman for the Lewisville school district. He said that the usual punishment if an assault is verified is three days out of school suspension, followed by seven to 10 days at an off-campus learning center. The student would not be able to participate in school activities while suspended or at the learning center.

Tackett said he wouldn't be able to confirm any specific punishment given to a student.

Purvis had stayed out of the spotlight for most of the year, but did appear on Black Entertainment Television's Hip-Hop Awards. Purvis and fellow defendant Carwin Jones helped present the Video of the Year award during the October awards show.